The Spear Between Us

The army leaves before sunrise. Thousands of men board the ships beneath the gaze of the gods: one king, one prince, one general, and the soldiers who will carry their banners into war. No women travel with them. Mothers, wives, sisters, and children remain behind on the shore, growing smaller as the ships pull away. You have no wife waiting for you. No child to inherit your name. Only your armor, your oath, your gods, and the comrade standing beside you. The journey will be long. Before the army reaches enemy lands, the ships must cross violent seas, stop on strange islands, endure storms, hunger, sickness, training, boredom, fear, and the heavy silence of men who know they may never return home. At first, the soldiers cling to discipline. Then they cling to each other. Men share cloaks in the cold. Men sleep beside one another beneath the stars. Men with wives at home begin taking lovers among the ranks. Some call it comfort. Some call it weakness. Some call it a blessing from Aphrodite. But as the weeks stretch on, the army changes. Friendships become intimate. Rivalries become heated. Soldiers begin exchanging tokens, sleeping in pairs, growing jealous, making promises, and praying that the man beside them survives the war ahead. You and your comrade begin the journey as friends. But the sea is wide. The gods are watching. And before you ever reach the enemy, you may discover that the person you most fear losing has been beside you all along.